MAP07: Bedlam (Threshold of Pain)

MAP07: Bedlam is the seventh map of Threshold of Pain. It was designed by John Gourley (scalliano) and uses the music track "Hopeless Despair," composed by Aubrey Hodges for the Sony PlayStation port of Doom. The par time defined in MAPINFO is 35:00.

Red key
Take the shotgun if you need it and climb the steps ahead, then go through the door at the top and collect the backpack. This will drop you into a square chamber with many imps - use the chaingun in the middle of the chamber to slay them all, then go through the east door and head down the steps. You will see a lava pool on your left with three red platforms - two of these platforms must be raised to allow you to climb to the red skull key. Turn right at the junction and continue down the steps until you reach a cavern with a rock floor.

Kill the enemies here and take the chaingun, then go through the south door to a room with four cages containing revenants as well as a pillar with a super shotgun on it. Pressing the switch on the south face of the pillar will allow you to get the weapon, but it will also cause Hell knights to teleport into the cages and lower a wall behind you to release imps and demons. Once the knights have been killed, the east door will open so you can move on to a fenced area with various zombies. Kill them all and take the rocket launcher near the east wall.

Look north to see a door and go through it to a set of steps with platforms on either side; mancubi will appear on these platforms when you start down the steps. Kill or avoid them and head down to the bottom of the steps (watching out for a crushing ceiling near the end) before jumping to a red tunnel. Follow the tunnel to a large marble room with a wide staircase and be ready to kill a number of arachnotrons, imps and nightmare imps, along with two Lords of Heresy in cages either side of the staircase. Once everything is dead head to the top of the stairs, press the skull switch and step into the teleporters on either side.

You will be returned to the lava pit by the red key - one of the platforms has risen, but you need to raise another one. Head south and return to the room with four cages which now contain barons of Hell, and kill all of them along with the demons that have been released from alcoves in the south wall. Once the last baron dies, head through the west door that opens to an outdoor area with square marble columns. Kill the enemies here (mostly cacodemons and nightmare imps) then head north-west to another door and go through it.

Kill one or more zombies waiting behind the door, then turn left to kill a revenant on I am a Wimp (IAAW) or Not Too Rough skill levels or one or two nightmare cacodemons on Hurt Me Plenty (HMP) or higher. Head south across the lava and climb the stairs to find a blood pool with one to three plasma zombies, then look east to see a skull switch guarded by a cacodemon on IAAW or NTR, or a pain elemental on HMP or higher. Press the switch then head through the door to the south to reach an outdoor area.

There are ledges on either side of the path with imps, as well as nightmare imps on HMP or higher. As you pass under each of the metal girders the walls will lower to reveal different enemies depending on the skill level. Be sure to take the chaingun and backpack before you start.
 * The first set of walls hide demons on IAAW or NTR, or revenants on HMP or higher.
 * The second set of walls hide demons on IAAW or NTR, or arachnotrons on HMP or higher.
 * The third set of walls hide revenants on IAAW or NTR, or mancubi on HMP or higher.
 * The fourth set of walls lower when you try to open the door at the south end of the path; they hide knights on IAAW or NTR, or an arch-vile and a baron on HMP or higher.

Killing the arch-vile or knight waiting in the south-west alcove will open the door you just used - go through it and step on the teleporter to reach an octagonal area populated by spectres, imps and knights. Go to the center of this area to find a small red pillar and press the switch on its south side, then head south into the teleporter which opens behind you. You will return to the area with the marble columns - look round the column in front of you to see that a cyberdemon has been revealed. Kill it to lower the bars blocking the exits, then leave through the east door.

The four cages in the next room now contain Lords of Heresy, and another alcove has opened in the south wall containing nightmare cacodemons. Kill them using the Doomsphere in the cacodemons' alcove, then leave through the north door and return to the large lava pit. You can now jump up the three platforms to reach the red skull key - watch out for cacodemons appearing at the edges of the pit when you take it.

Blue key
Jump back down the platforms then head north to find a door with red skull bars. Open the door but do not go through immediately, as there are a number of zombies and nightmare imps in the next room and the doorway will give you some cover. Once the monsters are dead, take the super shotgun then ride the lift up to the ledge that the nightmare imps were guarding. Turn right and follow the ledge to a switch, press it to lower the bars in the south-west corner and head through the bars before they close again.

Kill the imps and nightmare imps in the chamber ahead then go through the north door and follow the curving steps down, watching out for the imps and knights below plus two to four cacodemons that appear behind you when you reach the bottom of the steps. Head north through a tunnel guarded by plasma zombies to reach an area with a short bridge, guarded by imps on one side and arachnotrons and cacodemons on the other. Kill everything then head across the bridge and climb the steps; before going through the door at the top, kill the nightmare imps hiding behind the columns on either side. Go through the door and step into the teleporter to reach an octagonal room holding the blue skull key.

The outer area of the room is guarded by nightmare imps and nightmare spectres, while the fenced area containing the blue key is guarded by one to four barons. Kill all the barons to open the bars blocking your way to the key, then press the switch on the pillar holding the key to lower it. Taking the key will open four alcoves in the corners of the room containing mancubi; on HMP or higher, arachnotrons will also spawn in the outer area. Kill all four mancubi to open the bars blocking the teleporter in the north wall, then step into it to leave the room.

Exit
You will be returned to the teleporter past the bridge you crossed earlier. Leave the room to find that one or three arachnotrons have appeared on the south side of the bridge; kill them then cross the bridge and head through the passage to return to the curved stairs you used earlier, where some nightmare cacodemons have appeared. The door at the top of the stairs cannot be opened from this side, so turn right and step into the teleporter that has opened in the west wall to get back to the upper floor.

Go through the west door and kill the zombies waiting behind it, then follow the passage over a lava stream to a cavern guarded by imps and nightmare imps. Go through the south door to return to the starting room, then head through the west door that has blue skull bars. Follow the stairs down past six plasma zombies and open the door at the bottom to reach an outdoor area guarded by one to three bruiser demons. These monsters can launch fireballs and a spread of smaller projectiles which are easily avoided, but they can also generate lines of exploding fireballs that hug the floor and can inflict heavy damage - keep moving and use the columns to give you cover.

Once all the bruiser demons are dead, the door in the west wall will open. Go through it and step on the teleporter to finish the level.

Secrets

 * 1) After passing the crushing ceiling you will jump into a red tunnel. Follow the tunnel until you see a lost soul on your left, then look at the east wall to see a small recess. Open this recess (you may need to crouch to get through it) to find a set of steps with health bonuses. (sector 308) Climb the steps to the top, and you will be able to jump to two platforms that had mancubi on them; these platforms hold some ammo pickups.
 * 2) From secret #1, go back to the red tunnel and follow it until it curves to the south. Look ahead to see a hole in the wall; jump up to this hole and drop on to the platform behind it. (sector 134) From here you can jump to another platform that was guarded by a mancubus and also holds a megaarmor.
 * 3) Follow the red tunnel to the end to reach a fenced area with a staircase. Climb to the top of the staircase and an alcove containing cacodemons will open behind you; shoot the gargoyle switch in this alcove with any impact weapon to open a nook at the bottom of the stairs, then step into the nook before it closes to find a minigun and a box of bullets. (sector 201)
 * 4) From the room with four cages, go through the west door and head due west. The third column on your right has red pentagrams on it; press use on this column to lower it and reveal a soulsphere. (sector 101)
 * 5) In the south area of the level you will find a blood pool containing three plasma zombies. Look at the west wall to see an armor pickup between two bloodfalls; open the marble wall behind the armor to find a passage leading to a berserk pack, a box of shotgun shells and a demonic orb guarded by a chainsaw zombie. (sector 296) Taking the berserk will open the south wall and release two to five demons.
 * 6) Midway through the level you will enter an octagonal room which has a pillar in the center, surrounded by four red walls. Step off the teleporter and turn right to see a box of shotgun shells in front of a marble wall depicting an arch-vile. Open this wall to find an invulnerability powerup. (sector 83)
 * 7) In the same room as secret #5, look around the south-west red wall to find a gargoyle switch hidden in its south-east face; pressing the switch will lower the pillar in the center of the room and allow you to collect the megaarmor sitting on it. (sector 333)
 * 8) After killing the cyberdemon, go through the east door to return to the room with four cages which now contain Lords of Heresy. Killing all the lords will cause the cages to lower, allowing you to take the items inside them which include armor, a berserk pack, an energy cell pack and a box of rockets. (sector 85)
 * 9) After taking the red key, jump back down the red platforms then head north to find a door requiring this key. Go through the door and ride the lift up to a ledge, then turn right and follow the ledge to a switch which lowers the bars in the south-west corner of the room. Head through the bars before they close again to find yourself in a small tunnel with recessed stone walls. Open the fourth recess on your right to open a crawlspace leading to a yellow skull key and ammo pickups. (sector 391)
 * 10) After crossing the bridge leading to the teleporter to the blue key, turn round and look down to see a small ledge over a lava pit. Drop down or jump to this ledge and carefully follow it to a small tunnel containing a BFG9000, an energy cell pack and two medikits. (sector 460)
 * 11) After getting the red key, return to the starting area and head through the north door to a cavern with a small lava stream. Jump on the stalagmite by the lava-fall then climb up the ledges to the west before dropping down a hole to the north. The chamber here contains a megasphere, a minigun, a backpack and four demonic orbs. (sector 442)
 * 12) Secret #11 contains a door requiring the yellow key found in secret #9. Go through this door and take the rocket launcher, then climb the steps to a teleporter which will put you in an area that bears some resemblance to Dead Simple. (sector 551) Kill the four Lords of Heresy on the gray platforms, which will lower four of the surrounding walls and reveal eight arachnotrons guarding a soulsphere and a megaarmor; kill the arachnotrons and afrits will appear on the gray platforms. Once all the afrits are dead, cross the red bridge in the middle of the area to a fenced area containing an Unmaker. To leave the area, go to the north-west corner where a wall has lowered to reveal a hectebus - kill it and take the BFG9000 before stepping into the teleporter it was guarding to go back to the cavern north of the starting area.

Current records
The records for the map at the Doomed Speed Demos Archive are:

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level, not including monsters spawned via action specials or scripts:

Trivia

 * The chamber past secret #5 has the letters NIN written in lava on the floor, a reference to Nine Inch Nails.